The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-11-16
INDIA RUBBER.
How the Natives OF Costa Rica
Take It to Market.
A Thrifty Tree Able To Yield More Than
Fifty Pounds of Rubber

Tho chief industry in eastern Costa
Rica is the collection of caoutchouc
! pronounced kecchook, with the accent
strong on the first syllable), as the na-
tive Indians call that substance to US
known as India rubber Not many
ysars ago, says the Providence Journal,
more than 1oo, pounds of 1t were
shipped every month from Graytown
alone, but at present the av erage export
per month is only about 62, 900 pounds.
This considerable falling off is due to
the fact that no legal or other survcil-
lance is exercised over the gathering of
the gum, and with the customary i'm
providence of these people many OF
the valuable trees which yield it have
been ruined. Tho Yularoes or rubber
hunters are the most ignorant and ire
sponsibie creatures, whose first object
when out in hunt is to secure as much
caoutchouc as possible and next to dam.
age the prospects Of other Yularoes, re-
gardless of the future.
A thrifty tree ut its first cutting,
ought to yield not less than fifty
pounds of rubber but the hunters of to-
day find few so proftable-unless they
penetrate far into the virgin forests and
are lucky enough to discover an entirely
new district. In those sections already
worked most of tho trees have been
tapped several times and many of them
were spoiled at the outset by having
been cut too youug-its greedy discov-
ercr fearing that if tho prize we,e left
to attain perfection another might find
and secure it. Were the matter regulat-
ed by judicious laws, so that only ma
ture trees might be tapped, and those
not to an extent to cause death, the
production of caoutchouc would be
greatly increased. Recently the Costa
Rican government has offered extensive
grants of land to any who will devote
them to the culture of rubber trees but
so far few have availed themselves of
the opportunity.
M,ny attempts have been made to i'm
port the juice of the tree in its natural
state, but so fur none of these efforts
have succeeded. While in liquid form
it may be fashioned into any shape by
means of molds, but no process has yet
been discovered to prevent its solidify-
ing. There is always a good deal OF
partially hardened caoutchouc adhcring
to the bark of the tree, which is torn off
in long, stringy masses, called herucha.
OF course, this is not nearly so valuable
rs the solid cakes, and is more especial
ly the product of those trees that have
been cut several times, and therefore
cannot yield copiou' flow of sap; but
it is wrapped up in bundles and exported
for various purposes. Commercially
speaking, the caoutchouc of Paris is
considered best, and commands the
highest price in market, while that from
the west coast of Africa is least dcsira-
bic, being only slightly elastic, and Cike
its collectors) extremely offensive in odor.
Great quantities are also brought from
British India. Mauritius, and the
Indian archipelago.
The milky juice, which plays now so
important part among the earth's pro-
ductions, was first used by those Central
American Indians. Their caoutchouc
was made known to the world as elastic
gum, and was long afterward given the
name of rubber from the discovery of
its usefulness in rubbing out the marks
of black lead pencils. For the latter
purpose it began to bo imported into
Great Britain toward the close of tho
last century, aud beng much valued by
artists was sold at high price. Early
in 1880 the Spanish conquis tadores in
Mexico had learned to make caoutchouc
into shoes and also used it for waxing
their canvas cloaks to make them resist
water-something as the clothing of the
modern Yularo is coated. That, no
doubt, was the origin of the idea of its
manufacture into waterproof cloth,
which first gave it great commercial i'm
portance. Not until 1920 did its en-.
ployment begin to extend much beyond
the crasing cf pencil marks, though the
quantity imported had consi lerably in
creased.